President's Column

By Deana Groves

Greetings NMRT members! I am very excited to begin my presidential year and look forward to working with all of you.

There are a few recent updates I would like to share with you. In June the NMRT’s scholarly peer-reviewed publication, Endnotes: The Journal of the New Members Round Table, published its first electronic edition. This publication, as with the NMRT Newsletter Footnotes, is written for NMRT members by NMRT members. I look forward to reading great articles in both of these publications this year.

Another change I would like to mention is that the 3M/NMRT Social Committee is now called the NMRT Awards Reception Committee. This committee is now charged with planning an event during the ALA Annual Conference to recognize the recipients of the 3M Professional Development Grant and the Shirley Olofson Memorial Award. Please be sure to add this event to your Annual Conference schedule; it is always a great time!

The Local Arrangements Committee has also received a name change along with updated responsibilities. This committee is now charged with preparing guides to the ALA Annual Conference host city, providing local information of interest to NMRT members and other conference attendees, especially budget-conscious travelers. To reflect these new duties, the committee is now called the Annual Conference Local Information Committee.

Speaking of the Annual Conference, I am thrilled that my presidential year concludes in New Orleans. This is one of my favorite cities to visit. I had the opportunity to attend the Annual conference here in 2006 after the devastating Katrina hurricane. I was pleased to be part of an organization that was committed to helping this historical and beautiful city get back on its feet and I can’t wait to return again and hope you will join me!

My Presidential theme is Take Action. I hope this year you will take advantage of the many opportunities through NMRT to take action. Whether you write an article, participate in an online discussion through the electronic list, NMRT-L, or attend an NMRT-sponsored event in New Orleans, take action and get involved in your Round Table, NMRT.